A metric model for aspects' coupling

Abstract

Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) introduces new types of coupling among the aspects and the components of the base system. Indeed, several and different new kinds of interactions among aspects and the other components can be introduced by the AOP constructs, allowing the alteration both of the structure, control and data flow of the components of the base system. These interactions can make higher the complexity of the overall system affecting its comprehension. In this paper we present a proposal for a metric model to classify the types of coupling among aspects and the components of the base system. The model can be used to define how each kind of coupling affects the complexity, and thus the comprehensibility, of the system.